sad things, bumpy buses, and lots of motorcycles

Phnom Penh was pretty remarkable in the sense that so much hatred and destruction occurred not so long ago, and the people there are some of the happiest I have ever met. Everyone was smiling, friendly, gracious, and overall seemed genuinely happy. This surprises me immensely considering the communist upraising ruled by Pol Pot ended not so long ago where over 2 million people died. Men, Women, and Children were murdured the most violent of ways. Pol Pot had no sympathy for anyone, and this was the biggest genocide in history. Yet, I ask, why have I never learned about this tragedy in history until being here? We all know the story of the holocaust but we failed to learn the torture and the terrifying ways in which millions died over the course of a few years in the late 1970's.

Phnom Penh is the capitol of Cambodia and most of the tourism revolves around the killings of this time in history. Ever hear of the movie the "The Killing Fields"?? Well Phnom Penh is where the killing fields takes place. I went to the actual killing fields while there. The fields are basically one big field with hole, after hole, after hole, dug up where thousands of bodies were buried. There are still pieces of clothing coming out of the ground, as well as bones sticking up from areas that have not been fully excavated. There was a room full of only skulls of victims dug up. I will spare you all the details, but these people were brutally, I mean BRUTALLY murdered. Things we cant even imagine in our worst nightmares.

The torture of the men, women, and children started at the Prison S21. It is now a genocide museum, and shows how the inmates were tortured for information. After the torture they were then transported to the killing fields for extinction. Our tour guide at the genocide museum had her father and brother murdered. A very sad, somber day, and symbolically enough it was the first cloudy day we have had thus far.

On a happier note... I had two of the most remarkable meals in Phnom Penh. There are a few restaurants that donate all of their profits to help children finish school, and create a career for themselves in order to keep them off the streets. For lunch we went to a place called "Friends", and dinner was at "Romdeng". The restaurants were both really, really nice, and much more expensive than if we were to eat at a regular joint, but the cause is well worth supporting. (Not to mention by much more expensive I still paid less than $10 a meal).

This morning we woke up early and headed on a bus to cross the border into VIetnam. The bus was extremely bumpy, but at least it was air-conditioned. We got to Saigon, (now referred to as Ho Chi Minh City) around 3 pm. We wandered for a while to find a guest house to stay in, and finally after finding one that looked acceptable and trekking up the 8 flights of stairs to our room we hit the town.

First let me say there are over 3 million motorbikes in the city. Imagine a 2 way street, motorbikes 7 deep in each direction, speeding by. No stoplights, no crosswalks, no road rules. INSANITY, or an even better word is complete CHAOS. Crossing the street here is like a death wish every time. It is complete and utter craziness.

Tomorrow we are checking out the Cu Chi tunnels where the Viet Cong hid during the Vietnam War. It is about 50 km away from HCMC. Hopefully my claustrophobia wont be too terrible tomorrow. Fingers are crossed.